Coca-Cola plans to invest $1 billion in South Africa through 2030

After almost a century of operating in South Africa, Coca-Cola Co. is deepening its investment in the market with a fresh 17.6 billion-rand ($1 billion) commitment to expand capacity and distribution through 2030.

Coca-Cola, together with two local authorized bottling partners Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa and Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages, said Tuesday it will use the new funding to “accelerate innovation.”

The drinks maker, which began bottling locally in 1928, built its footprint through a franchise system that endured through apartheid — including a period of formal divestment in the 1980s when products continued to be sold via local bottlers — before re-establishing direct control after 1994 and turning the country into a hub for its African operations.

The investment follows a broader reshaping of Coca-Cola’s African bottling network, including the creation of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa in 2016.

Five months ago, Coca-Cola HBC AG agreed to buy 75% of that business from Coca-Cola Co. and Gutsche Family Investments in a deal valued at about $2.6 billion, creating the second-largest bottling partner for the company’s drinks by volume.

South Africa — the continent’s most industrialized economy — remains central to Coca-Cola’s regional strategy. The system employs about 7,800 people directly and supports a further 79,300 jobs through suppliers and customers, according to a study by consulting firm Steward Redqueen.

The announcement was made at an investment conference where President Cyril Ramaphosa promoted South Africa as a reform-driven destination for capital, with a goal of attracting 3 trillion rand over the next five years.